A radome is an enclosure designed to protect radar antennas from outside weather and debris. A typical ground-based radome is constructed of a multitude of panels formed into a spherical enclosure. Each of the panels is connected by a plurality of fasteners, such that a typical 55-foot diameter radome may have more than 6,000 fasteners. By some estimates, each fastener takes about a minute to install, leading to over 100 man-hours for fastener installation alone in a typical 55-foot diameter radome.
In current installations, radome panels are often connected by a common nut-and-bolt fastener. A nut-and-bolt fastener requires a user to secure either the nut or the bolthead in place while tightening the other. In other words, access to both portions of the fastener (i.e., both sides of the joined radome panels) is necessary.
In some situations, an adhesive is applied to the nut portion of the fastener to hold it in place while the bolt is tightened. However, such an adhesive can be weak and may not hold during the installation process, and the adhesive bond often does not last throughout the operational life of the fastener. If the adhesive bond on the nut is broken, the fastener may merely spin in place rather than tighten. At the same time, with the nut and bolt on opposite sides of the joined radome panels, simultaneous access to both portions of the fastener is not readily available.
Thus, there remains a need for an improved fastener assembly which can be quickly installed and requires access to only one side of the adjacent radome panels.